In peridontal surgery, the technique of using the free autogenous gingival graft has been the most used and preferred method of supplementing the attached gingival tissue. The procedure involves removing a precise piece of donor tissue from the hard palate and grafting it to increase the dimension of the attached gingiva in a deficient area. Because of the difficult area to work in the mouth and the precise dimension of the donor tissue, improved cutting instruments are needed to improve and simplify the technique.
Various attempts to improve cutting instruments for gingival and other human tissue for grafting purposes are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,236,067 (Foth), 2,442,435 (Reese), 3,013,553 (Averbach), 3,327,711 (Vallis), 3,412,732 (Simon), 3,583,403 (Pohl et al.), 3,670,734 (Hardy), 3,688,407 (Paquette), 3,797,505 (Gilhaus) 3,934,591 (Gleason), 4,038,986 (Mahler), 4,098,278 (Schwartz), 4,221,222 (Detsch) and 4,240,432 (Mormann et al.).